Manji
Manji (卍 / 万次, Manji) is the main protagonist of Blade of the Immortal. Appearance He has a variety of scars on his body, with the most noticeable being two horizontal scars across his face and a verticle scar going through his right eye. His hair is usually tied in a ponytail. Personality Manji is laid-back and shrewd with jaded and nihilistic tendencies. He is crude and often rude to everyone, but develops a deep attachment to Rin. History Little is known about Manji's background except that he once served under a local daimyo, unknowingly enforcing his brutal rule on the locals until he found out his lord was corrupt and killed him. For that, he was hunted as an outlaw. He was later nicknamed "Killer of 100" after the number of police officers he killed. Plot Prologue The immortal samurai, Manji was introduced when he confessed his sins of killing a hundred men to a priest in a church. But in fact, the priest is actually Gyobutsu "Johnny", a bounty hunter in disguise. He then shot Manji in the head but Manji revived and cut off Johnny's head instead. Later, Manji returned to an inn where he was staying with his sister and where an 800-year-old nun, Yaobikuni was waiting for him. Yaobikuni was the one who put the Kessen-chu (sacred bloodworms that allow anyone to survive nearly any injury and reattach severed limbs) in Manji's body. It was also revealed that Manji's sister, Machi looks and acts like a child, though she is actually a grown woman with a husband, who Manji killed. IN a flashback, Manji is chased down by law enforcement after killing his lord and a hundred of his pursuers. He crossed paths with Saito Tatsumasa and killed him in self-defense, without knowing that he's Machi's husband. After witnessing her husband's murder at the hands of her brother, Machi had a mental breakdown and reverted to a child-like mindset. Back in the present, Yaobikuni offered Manji to give up his sword and travel with her as a monk but Manji refused to do that. That same night, Machi was kidnapped by a gang of cronies. When Manji rushed to rescue her, the head of the gang, Shido Hishiyasu wanted both his gang and him to fight one by one in exchange for freeing Machi. This is so that he can avenge his brother, Gyoubutso "Johnny". Manji, however, offered to fight them all bare-handed but Shido refused thinking that he's insane. He then released Machi but killed her in front of Manji. Manji protected her body from being further sliced up by Shido but in the process, was stabbed in the back. Later, he killed Shido and all of his gang members to avenge Machi's death. He returned to the inn at dawn while still covered with blood. Manji then told Yaobikuni that he's not going to give up his sword and that he will kill one thousand evil men to pay his act of killing one hundred good men. Yaobikuni agreed and said that the Kessen-chu will leave his body after he killed one thousand evil men. Manji later collapsed in front of the inn, out of exhaustion. Arc 1:''' '''Introduction A while later, Manji met Rin Asano, a 16-year-old girl who was the sole survivor of a massacre two years prior. Rin had been searching for him at the recommendation of Yaobikuni to hire an immortal and skilled bodyguard to aid her in her quest for vengeance on the man who led the massacre that killed her parents, Anotsu Kagehisa. At first, Manji refused to help her but finally agreed because Rin looked a lot like his deceased sister, Machi. Later that same night, thanks to the poems that were sent by Kuroi Sabato, a member of Itto-ryu who was also one of the men who carried out the massacre, to Rin's family's dojo, both Rin and Manji found him beside a lake. From the flow of events, Manji's legs were chopped off by Kuroi and after Rin unleashed a secret technique on Kuroi which caused his shoulders and head to explode, the heads of two women appeard on his shoulders. One of the women whose head is attached to Kuroi's shoulder was Rin's mother. Out of fury, Rin unleashed the same technique but Kuroi evaded it. Kuroi then managed to convince her to kill herself but before she could do so, Manji managed to approach Kuroi from behind and stabbed him from the back. Afterward, Kuroi was killed and both Rin's and Manji's quest for Anotsu Kagehisa's head continued. Arc 2: Kaga Manji and Rin reluctantly team up with the Mugai-ryu in order to track down Anotsu Kagehisa. The Mugai-ryu has a mole within the Ittou-ryu who feeds them information about Anotsu's plans and whereabouts. Hyakurin, the deputy leader, refuses to allay Manji's apprehensions about teaming up with them and does not disclose who their boss is. After an attempt to find Anotsu goes awry, Manji cuts off Mugai-ryu member Shira's hand off and Shira runs away to make Manji and Rin take the fall for the murders he just committed and the prostitute he cut up. When Manji awakens the next morning to find Rin has run after Anotsu without him (due to a conversation she had with Hyakurin) he is furious and ready to pound Hyakurin into the ground if she doesn't tell him where in Kaga Anotsu is staying. He plans to cut through the sekisho checkpoint out of Edo to get to Kaga, but Hyakurin convinces him to steal a tegata (an official travel pass allowing one passage in and out of Edo). Their attempt to get a tegata ends badly; Manji is in pieces and Hyakurin can barely speak. Manji realizes all the Mugai-ryu members work for the Shogunate, and Master Sori tells him they are all from death row. Sori also tells Manji he should have asked him first for a tegata, as he would have been able to give him plenty without any bloodshed. While at Sori's, Magatsu Taito arrives to board and the two men almost fight until Tatsubo enters the room and tells them if there's and sword-swinging she'll kick them both out. The men settle down and Magatsu tells Manji he left the Ittou-ryu a long time ago and is tracking down Shira. They agree to work together to find Shira and put an end to him. Shira finds Manji first and initiates a battle with him, but once Magatsu confirms Shira is the one who killed Ren, Manji leaves the fight to Magatsu. After the battle, recovering at a doctor's, Magatsu tells Manji he is now headed for Kaga as well, and says if they meet up again and Anotsu's there, he will probably side with Anotsu. Having heard he might find Anotsu (and therefore Rin) at the Shingyoto-ryu, Manji makes it to Kaga but finds no one at the dojo. Sometime later, he accidentally comes across Rin, who has been beaten and is being restrained by the group of Shingyoto-ryu men who are after Anotsu; Anotsu is hiding in a boat as he has been gravely ill and too weak to fight anyone. Manji has no idea what has transpired, but Rin cries and tells Manji that if he doesn't kill all of those men now, then they absolutely will kill her. Manji, who had been hesitant to enter such a bizarre fight when he was not certain who the enemy was, drops all of his weapons at Rin's words and promises death to all of the men there for hurting his woman. During battle, the men reveal Anotsu Kagehisa's presence, stunning Manji. Magatsu shows up, as well as Makie. After the battle, Rin promises Anotsu she will kill him and he leaves with Makie and Magatsu. Manji asks Rin if she's sure she's okay with letting Anotsu leave and then offers her to ride piggyback on him because one of her toenails is torn off. Rin is a bit shy about it, but accepts and then expresses her relief to Manji in the form of a tight hug, which Manji rejects as it's around his neck. They return to Manji's home in Edo. Giichi arrives and tells Manji he is now officially a Mugai-ryu member, orders from the bakufu as they want to fight the currently-broken Ittou-ryu before they can rebuild their forces. As Manji is known to have killed over one hundred people, the government feels his inclusion is his payment for not being arrested (and if they all kill each other, they won't care). If Manji refuses, Giichi will kill him. Manji is more thrilled about fighting Giichi than in becoming a pawn for the Bakufu, and the two go to a remote place to fight. When Giichi tells him he has killed fifty-nine Ittou-ryu, Manji's confidence falters a bit. The fight is difficult, but once Manji breaks Giichi's weapon, Giichi concedes. Manji is ready to fight some more, but Giichi is tired, and Manji tells him that although he is not saying he will join the Mugai-ryu, he is willing to speak to Giichi's boss. Arc 3: Elucidation of Immortality Upon returning home, Manji and Giichi find Rin has been abducted by the Ittou-ryu as a way to get Manji's attention; a note, nailed to the wall with one of Rin's hair rings, tells Manji to go to Ishioshigun quarry. Giichi accompanies Manji to the quarry. When the Ittou-ryu member recognize Giichi, a potentially straightforward battle becomes complicated. When Manji is cut with a blade bearing kessen-satsu poison, his wounds begin to open, newest first. He struggles as he fights, while Giichi faces his own foes, including Magatsu. Manji had given Giichi one of his daggers, to help his fight against the Ittou-ryu. Meanwhile, because of the kessen-satsu's effects, Manji is losing his battle. He realizes he has become too sloppy, but manages to kill his opponent. He and Giichi return home to begin searching for Rin, but she soon appears, having made her own way out of her binds to try and give him her kessen-satsu medicine. Manji is surprised and touched by her devotion, but reminds her that he is her bodyguard and not the other way around. He tells her that she is still a kid and shouldn't be in a hurry to grow up hard-hearted. Manji visits Habaki Kagimura, the Mugai-ryu's leader. Habaki asks Manji about his immortality, and Manji is vague about the details; he tells Habaki that if he really wants to know how "perfect" his immortality is, he may as well draw his sword and find out. Habaki stabs him, but ceases their fight to see how Manji's body heals itself. Manji is then ambushed, knocked out, and taken to a prison underneath Edo Castle. In his cell, he is chained up and subjected to painful and torturous experiments in order to discover a process for how to make others immortal; particularly Habaki Kagimura, who implemented the plan. The lead doctor in charge of these experiments is Mozen, but is soon replaced by Ayame Burando. Manji and his cellmate, the felon Dewanosuke, hatch a plan to take Burando hostage and escape; Manji is able to retrieve a scalpel that had accidentally been left in him when Mozen had stuck his hand in one of Manji's wounds. Their plan works at first, and Habaki arrives, but Habaki attacks and Manji loses his hand and releases Burando. Burando uses the pully to raise Manji's good arm up the wall by its chain to render him unable to fight. Dewanosuke makes a run for it, but his hand is also chopped off. Habaki tells Burando to attach Manji's severed hand onto Dewanosuke's wrist, and tells Toraemon to attach Dewanosuke's hand onto Manji's wrist. The experiment proves successful, even upon transferring the men's original hands back to their original bodies. Habaki kills Dewanosuke to test if his body is truly immortal, though Manji tries to talk it out of him as Dewanosuke's general health has not fared well over the weeks of experimentation. Dewanosuke does not survive, and Manji is furious over his friend's demise. Habaki brings in another felon (Kurifu) and reminds Manji that if he reveals where Yaobikuni is, they can stop the experiments, but Manji has no answers. When Manji learns Kurifu is not on death row and that he volunteered to be experimented on, Manji punches his face in disgust. Kurifu becomes another failed experiment and dies, followed by a multitude of others. Burando has a sudden change of heart and refuses to experiment further, because he knows each of his subjects will die. Habaki sentences him to life in prison. Over a month has passed since Manji has been taken prisoner. Burando returns to head the immortality experiments after otter masks are made for all the inmates. Manji, heavily drugged, hears a commotion outside his cell and then sees a woman beating the crap out of Burando just as she reaches him. He realizes it is Rin, but didn't recognize her at first as he felt she looked much more grown-up. She embraces him and they fall over together before she undoes one of his wrists from his chains. He chides her for not having an escape plan and for losing all of her weapons by coming there, but Rin tells him that when they're together they're invincible, and he laughs before agreeing. Habaki shows up before Manji is completely freed, and he and Rin face formidable opponents including Habaki, Benki, and Asaemon. Manji takes out one of Habaki's eyes, Benki dislocates Rin's shoulders and elbows, and Manji is strung up by his chains and immobilized. They are out of luck until Isaku and Doa appear to join the fray. As they battle, water begins to flood the prison, allowing other felons to get out of their cells and fight. Rin helps Doa, Isaku, and Manji fight off a deformed inmate. Manji then tells Burando to let the inmate live, reminding him of Dewanosuke. Isaku breaks Manji's chain so he can get out of his cell. Asaemon reappears and he and Manji fight. Asaemon cuts off Manji's arm, but is still attached to the chain with it and Rin cranks the chain up to strangle him. Manji's arm washes away in the flood as Rin supports him and they make their way out of the cell. Just as Rin is about to pick up Manji's severed arm, Renzo appears and picks it up instead. Rin is shocked and asks for Manji's arm, and Renzo is about to give it to her until he sees Manji. Shira arrives before Renzo can make a decision, and as they leave together, Rin begs Renzo not to go with him, but he ignores her. Rin helps Manji out from underneath Edo castle and kisses him when they collapse. They lie hand-in-hand on the fallen leaves and rest happily. Arc 4: Final Chapter Winter is arriving and Manji and Rin have returned to normal living. Rin is living with Master Sori and Manji sleeps in a shack nearby. Waiting for Rin to bring his lunch, Manji is ambushed by masked fighters, but they have mistaken him for Baro Sukezane of the Ittou-ryu. Manji fights back but they are not equipped to fight someone like him. Several new men show up and fight Manji instead, still thinking he is Sukezane, but when they find out who he is they warn him they may not let him go next time. Manji runs into his flaming home to gather his things and then moves in with Rin at Master Sori's. Rin won't let him sleep and reminisces about reuniting with him in Kaga. Manji admits she was pretty amazing when she saved him from prison, but that if she ever does anything like that again he'll step out of her life without a word, for good. He tells her about losing his sister, who was very precious to him, and that he cannot ever experience losing that again. He tells her she doesn't look like his sister anymore; in fact, when he tries to picture Machi's face, he can only see Rin's. He then takes advantage of her embarrassment and teases her, earning himself a very hard slap to the face, but they move to each other's futons and fall asleep holding hands. After Rin and Anotsu run into each other again, Rin tells Manji that Anotsu asked him to join her in Mito, where Anotsu is heading next. The Ittou-ryu are planning to leave Edo as they have been banished from the city (mostly a result of the incident where Rin and Doa broke into Edo Castle). Anotsu and the Ittou-ryu are heading to Hitachi to set sail for a secret location, though they told the bakufu they were going to sail from Mito to Satsuma, on Kyushu Island. Manji is willing to accept Anotsu's "offer to a bloodbath" but warns Rin he can't protect her very well anymore as he only has one arm. Weapons This is a list of Manji's weapons that appeared in the manga but only those with names that are compiled in this list. Shidō (四道; Literally "Four Paths"): Acquired from the samurai who killed his sister, this pair of short blades seem to be Manji's preferred weapon. The blade prongs off near the guard, allowing it to be used to catch other blades. Imo-no-Kami Tatsumasa (妹守辰政; Literally Sister Defender Tatsumasa): This was originally the sword of Saitō Tatsumasa, the husband of Machi and Manji's former brother-in-law. It was forged by the famous swordsmith Toratoru Kotetsu. Manji often combines it's with Kotengu by the hilt, just like how Saitō once combined it with another katana. Kotengu (少天狗; Literally Little Devil):. A two-bladed dagger. One blade forward, the other bending to the right. Manji seems to like climbing trees with this one. After Shidō and Imo-no-Kami Tatsumasa, this is the weapon Manji uses most.Blade of the Immortal manga; Chapter 39, page 33 Aun (阿吽; Literally Om) A two-headed spear which can be folded up. Sickles: Two sickles attached to each other by a chain that extends. Manji lent them to Giichi after Manji had broken his weapon. Karasu (烏; Literally Crow): Two shuriken, originally used by Kuroi Sabato. One of them has four blades, while the other only has three, although this does not appear to be significant. Okorobi (男転; Literally Man Toppler): Merabi (女蝱; Literally Lady Gadfly): Manji calls it an "ugly sword", one which is not meant for a sheath but to cause grievous wounds by ramming it into the flesh of an enemy and pulling it out again.Blade of the Immortal manga; Chapter 166, page 18 Abilities Immortality: Because of the Kessen-chu inhabiting his body, Manji has attained immortality. His body will always return to the state it was when the Kessen-chu were implanted, allowing him to sustain almost any wound. The only weaknesses of this immortality (according to Ayame Burando) are burning to ash, extreme cold, grievous damage to the bodily organs, starved of food or oxygen, being crushed to a pulp and drowning.Blade of the Immortal manga; Chapter 160, page 8 Swordsmanship Expert: Manji is an expert swordsman seeing as he was able to survive a hundred deathmatches before his immortality. Weapon Master: Manji is a weapon master owing to the fact that he uses a large variety of weapons easily. It has been hinted that he's a collector. Intelligence: Manji is very intelligent and shrewd, despite his appearance. 'Relationships' Rin Asano Manji is Rin's bodyguard. They at first have a sibling-like relationship but there are hints that suggest a romance between the two, although this dynamic rarely appears. After Rin risks her life to protect him several times, he tells her he has had enough and will leave her without a word if she ever does it again, frustrated that she is putting her own life in danger to save his. Initially, he sees Rin as quite childish and idealistic, but she proves herself and her convictions with her actions and he learns to respect her and take her seriously. He worries over her safety, carries her when she can't walk, and protects her as if she were part of his own family or something more. He not only wants to protect her physically, but also emotionally, hoping she will both learn to understand reality as well as keep her compassionate and youthful nature instead of turning into a bitter, hard-hearted person like everyone else. Magatsu Taito Manji's equal from the aspects of physical strength and fighting skills. Although Magatsu was a former member of Itto-Ryu, he joined forces with Manji to seek revenge on his lover's killer. Later, they become enemies again when he rejoins the Ittou-ryu. Shira In an incident where Rin and Shira teamed up in an attempt to defeat Anotsu in an ambush, Shira revealed his true colors when he killed three members of Itto-Ryu (which Anotsu prepared to protect a prostitute that served as a distraction so he can travel to another dojo freely) and sliced up the prostitute. Rin, horrified by the scene, tried to stop him from killing the prostitute but it only angered Shira more. When Shira was about to kill Rin, Manji appeared and saved Rin by cutting off Shira's hand. When Shira kidnaps Rin, Manji shows up for a fight, ready to settle the score and put an end to him once and for all. When Manji sees what Shira has done to Rin, he runs immediately from the fight (much to Shira's dismay) to try and save her life. Upon returning to their battleground, Manji is livid. When Shira alludes to having raped Rin, as he had O-Ren, Manji starts a fight to the death, which is just what Shira was hoping for. Anotsu Kagehisa Manji doesn't seem to have any strong feelings about Anotsu, save knowing what he has done to Rin's family and that he is the leader of the Ittou-ryu. Manji knows how important it is to Rin that she kill Anotsu and not him, and Anotsu knows it, too. When Anotsu comments that Rin must have a very pure heart to be so set on revenge for so long, Manji tells him it's quite the opposite, and that she is constantly filled with doubt. Master Sōri Quotes *(About Machi) "I commit seppuku now, she dies in a ditch somewhere, all alone..." *''"Machi...this isn't a beancake. It's horse shit."'' *''"I've got something special for you - A taste of pain... such as most people could never even dream of!"'' *''"Sure, the memories hurt. But if you can hold onto them... sometimes they can make you as strong as steel."'' *''"There must be some reason of your own that you can't give up the sword! Remember that reason! Fight for it!"'' *''"Somehow for me... It's like I'm seeing it long ago and far away. I can't get into it. I guess there's no place for me in the normal world anymore."'' *(To Rin) "If you want everyone to like you... then you can't even fart when you're out on the street." *''"Hyakurin, you devious bitch!"'' *''"I never thought you were this twisted. What do you fuckers think people are?!"'' *''"You don't gotta rush to turn into a bitter hard-case, do ya, Rin?"'' *''"Killing mosquitoes!"'' Trivia *Manji has story similarities to Himura Kenshin. Manji, like Kenshin, is seeking atonement for the people he killed in the past and they both are highly skilled ronins. However, they have entirely different personalities. *Manji has the habit of naming new weapons after their owners. *Manji likes to collect weapons and can hide them all easily inside his clothes despite their shapes, nature, and size. References Category:Characters Category:Male characters Category:Main characters Category:Immortals Category:Ronin